FA Community Shield to take place on August 29
The Community Shield is set to take place at Wembley on Saturday August 29, the FA confirmed on Wednesday. The traditional curtain-raiser for the new season will see Premier League 2019-20 champions Liverpool play either Arsenal or Chelsea, who meet in this Saturday's FA Cup final. The match will be played two weeks before the start of the top-flight season.
Community Shield match could welcome a restricted number of supporters
It has been reported that the Community Shield match could welcome a restricted number of supporters into Wembley. This is seen as part of plans for supporters to make a socially-distanced return to sports venues more widely from October 1. The match will be immediately followed by an international break from September 2 to 10.
Premier League champions Liverpool await FA Cup winners
Liverpool pocketed the Premier League 2019-20 title with seven games to spare. The Reds finished the delayed season with 99 points from 38 matches. Liverpool will be hoping to win another piece of silverware ahead of defending the league honor. They await the FA Cup winner between Arsenal and Chelsea. The duo qualified for the final after overcoming City and Manchester United respectively.
City won successive Community Shields in 2018 and 2019
Manchester City are the current holders of the FA Community Shield. City, who had won the Premier League in 2017-18, beat Chelsea 2-0 in 2018. They won the league title once again the following season and overcame Liverpool in the 2019 Community Shield.
Premier League 2020-21 season to start on September 12
Earlier, it was announced that the 2020-21 season of the Premier League will start on September 12 and run until May 23, 2021. The season will begin behind closed doors, with spectators only set to return to venues on a socially-distanced basis from October 1.
